Muslim men can register more than one marriage as ‘personal laws’ permit them to marry four women, ruled Bombay High Court. This ruling came after a man filed a petition seeking to register his third marriage with an Algerian woman.
The court has instructed the deputy marriage registrar of the Thane Municipal Corporation to make a decision on the application submitted by a Muslim man seeking to register his third marriage in February 2023. The petition was filed by the couple after the authorities denied to register the marriage and justified that under the Maharashtra Regulation of Marriage Bureau and Registration of Marriage Act, marriage has to be one and not multiple unions.
On October 15, the bench comprising justices B P Colabawalla and Somashekhar Sundaresan said, “According to Muslim personal laws, a man is allowed to keep four wives at a time. Based on this, we cannot accept the submission made by authorities that a Muslim man shouldnt be allowed to have more than one wife under Maharashtra Regulation of Marriage Bureau and Registration of Marriage Act.”
It further added, “There is nothing stated or indicated in the Act to justify that the personal laws of Muslims are exempted.”
The bench also noted that the same authorities had registered the petitioner’s second marriage.
The court has directed the respective authority of the Thane civic body to arrange a personal hearing for the couple and pass the verdict either allowing marriage registration or denying it within ten days. In case the registration is denied, the case will be moved to the Registrar General under the Act.
The couple were ordered to submit the relevant documents. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Immigration and Foreigners Regional registration office cannot take any action against the woman as her passport expired in May this year, as directed by the court.
